House Proceeding 04-02-09 on Apr 2nd, 2009 :: 2:31:20 to 2:41:50
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2:31:16 to 2:31:36( Edit History Discussion )

Barney Frank: mae and freddie mac? regardless of how the republican votes came out, did the gentleman oppose those regulatory amendments? mr. frank: my point is that it was not my fault that 200 republicans voted against it. i did vote with the majority of republicans. the question is who's responsible.

2:31:20 to 2:41:50( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Barney Frank

2:31:37 to 2:31:57( Edit History Discussion )

Barney Frank: when you're in the minority, you can't always shape things. sometimes you have to make unpleasant choices. when i became chairman of the committee in january of 2007, i was able to combine tough regulation, knowing that we were going to be able to restrict subprime and with help for rental housing.

2:31:58 to 2:32:18( Edit History Discussion )

Barney Frank: when i was in power, not forced to choose among republican alternatives, but in the majority i helped pass a bill that was tougher than the bill in 2005 that was acceptable to the bush administration, acceptable to the leading critical group. i voted with the great majority of repubcans. so i guess that's what i'm

2:32:19 to 2:32:40( Edit History Discussion )

Barney Frank: responsible for. i voted with the overwhelming marity of house republicans to report out a bill that the republicans thought would work. new jersey. i yield to the from new jersey

2:32:41 to 2:33:01( Edit History Discussion )

Barney Frank: mr. king: diminishment of persuasive powers. mr. frank: that's the gap between the propaganda and reality. the republicans are in control and they pass the bill and they cut out the affordable housing. i hoped we could combine moderate regulation that mr. oxley wanted and the

2:33:02 to 2:33:23( Edit History Discussion )

Barney Frank: overwhelming majority of repubcans wanted with affordable housing and restrictions on subprime. when we were not able to get the subprime bill through and things had deteriorated, i said ok, and i was for tougher regul by the way, the gentleman from iowa voted against it.

2:33:24 to 2:33:46( Edit History Discussion )

Barney Frank: i will say, mr. the chairmanship i had was to get tougher regulation on fannie mae and freddie mac but couldn't get the catholic church to build affordable housing. and so yes, a majority of republicans voted for the bill in 2005 which the bush

2:33:47 to 2:34:07( Edit History Discussion )

Barney Frank: majority of the republicans oppod bill in 2007 that the bush administration was strong enough, because their opposition to rental housing to low-income people. i from new jersey. mr. garrett: as an individual who was one of the few and those who voted no on those amendments --

2:34:08 to 2:34:30( Edit History Discussion )

Barney Frank: mr. frank: and no in question. mr. garrett: and no in committee, obviously i saw some of the problems and had concerns. i will make a suggestion as to why you get the accusations, if you will, the statements about you, as you will.

2:34:31 to 2:34:52( Edit History Discussion )

Barney Frank: i heard you were on "lou dobbs" but i'll offer suggestions as to why that may be. when i came here in 2002 in that election -- in that year and joined the committee, i merely became somewhat involved in this issue, although i wasn't involved in it before. i saw in our committee that one

2:34:53 to 2:35:14( Edit History Discussion )

Barney Frank: person stood out in my mind as the person who was always trying to fight to rein in the g.s.e.'s and that is richard baker. he was articulate and always on the facts and always pounding every opportunity. i and other people saw him on that side.

2:35:15 to 2:35:35( Edit History Discussion )

Barney Frank: when some of those amendments that you referred to before and i think there were other ones in later months that i and others made, a number of us saw the champion on the other side of that issue out of both parties, both republicans and democrats and some republicans were boys trust as far as letting freddie

2:35:36 to 2:35:57( Edit History Discussion )

Barney Frank: and fannie. mr. frank: not some republicans, a majority of the republicans in the committee and majority of the repubcans on the floor. every time the issue arows, they were on the side of mr. oxley and myself. mr. garrett: n how the votes were going but what members

2:35:58 to 2:36:18( Edit History Discussion )

Barney Frank: stood up and more boisterous. not all republicans were, but one or two or three were. and on those other issues, maybe because you were ranking member in the minority years, but you were very boisterous. mr. frank: i was the senior democrat and i spoke out. i wish that i had that effect elsewhere.

2:36:19 to 2:36:39( Edit History Discussion )

Barney Frank: i would not have said -- you would not have been able to kill the affordable housing trust fund. when i was the senior member, the majority committee killed evy aforledable housing amendment we had.

2:36:40 to 2:37:01( Edit History Discussion )

Barney Frank: i wish i was as persuasive as the gentleman now. i must say less than convincingly tries to argue. i do not think i charmed the majority of republicans. by the way, it was mr. baker, who you correctly -- gentleman correctly identified as the leading opponent of and freddie mac who said in 2007 when i bec

2:37:02 to 2:37:24( Edit History Discussion )

Barney Frank: able to put the right ingredients in the bill, quote, with every iteration, it got stronger. it's to the point i didn't know what else there was to put in it. i appreciate mr. baker's endorsement of the bill, which i helped pass. i want to address one iss as i close and we have had a legitimate debate, but an

2:37:25 to 2:37:46( Edit History Discussion )

Barney Frank: article in a publication circulated by the republican staff on the financial services committee, i was accused of betraying my oath and my obligation because of the relationship i had with a man who worked at fannie mae. i want to express my disappointment that people i have worked with on the financial services committee

2:37:47 to 2:38:08( Edit History Discussion )

Barney Frank: that their staff, presumably with the approval of somebody would send that out. we have partners and spouses who are variously employed. we republican party who has been voting present recently because of his wife's position.

2:38:09 to 2:38:29( Edit History Discussion )

Barney Frank: and the article falsely said that i was having a relationship with a senior executive at fannie mae. and that's why i did it. now the gay rights compares it with the right wing when they circulate this sort of vicious information. the fact is the man with whom i had a relationship graduated

2:38:30 to 2:38:51( Edit History Discussion )

Barney Frank: from business school in 1990. he was a new m.b.a. and went to work at fannie mae and freddie mac. he was never a senior executive. he had a working position. after eight years, we ended the relationship. he left town. i was by that time a lower ranking member of the committee.

2:38:52 to 2:39:14( Edit History Discussion )

Barney Frank: the events happened many years later after we separated when he had no financial interest and he was 3,000 miles away. i have to say to the the gentleman from new jersey i reject the suggestion that i was so persuasive, the only one issue that we tried to prevent a right-wing rampage and which i was unable to get decent legislation and unable to get

2:39:15 to 2:39:35( Edit History Discussion )

Barney Frank: good subprime lending laws, the only thing i was able to stop them from reguting fannie mae and freddie mac and that's why a majority of them never took that position and never got a good bill until i became a chairman. i think it's the fear of the right wings that regulation is coming. that unregulated default swaps

2:39:36 to 2:39:56( Edit History Discussion )

Barney Frank: are no longer the case. we will have rules that will prevent subprime lending as mr. zandi notes in his closing passage, regulators didn't create the subprime financial shock, but they did nothing to prevent it. it wasn't the c.r.a. but the lack of regulation. this was the result of first

2:39:57 to 2:40:17( Edit History Discussion )

Barney Frank: policy makers distrust of regulation in general. their belief that markets and financial institutions could police themselves and second of the nation's and ti kuwaited framework. the institutions guiding the financial systems were fashioned during the great depression and as financed evolved, they remain

2:40:18 to 2:40:38( Edit History Discussion )

Barney Frank: unchanged and overhaul was overdue. i'm go to go have a major play in this overhaul and there are right-wing forces who don't want that to happen. i am the target -- i don't think it's me personally, i'm not that paranoid. ifhey blame me and unfairly

2:40:39 to 2:41:01( Edit History Discussion )

Barney Frank: blame me and senator dodd, it's farfetched to blame senator dodd. he wasn't the senior democrat. he was running the senate i thought was too implausible, but we have learned from swift boating that this is right-wing propaganda can't go unrebutted. there is this fear that we won't

2:41:02 to 2:41:22( Edit History Discussion )

Barney Frank: have unregulated subprime mortgages and we'll sethat when we bring the bill up. that we won't have any more unlimited credit default swaps. it is the fear of regulation that franklin roosevelt confronted, it is the fear that

2:41:23 to 2:41:43( Edit History Discussion )

Barney Frank: disastrous results of the policy of deregulation have led the american people to understand that we should adopt a good set of regulations. that's why there are distortions and smears against my record and while i'm being held accountable and the time has come to have that debate because we have

2:41:44 to 2:41:52( Edit History Discussion )

Barney Frank: learned that if we wait too long, the lies will stick and not only will that be bad for republic pewtations, even worse,